Left Party MP expelled from German parliament for wearing Palestine t-shirt
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Uh... This person's whole job is to make political statements.
While the Bundestag does not have a detailed dress code, its rules require MPs and visitors to dress "in keeping with the prestige" of the institution.
Whoever put this rule on the books needs to be slapped across the face.
They wanted a dresscode. They wanted to have political discourse be through, you know, discourse, instead of through other means. But they didn't want the dresscode to be so strict that they would be forced to wear the same silly robes for hundreds of years or so.
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AfD members of parliament are routinely wearing German flag pins, which carries a pretty obvious message coming from a far right party.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]Trouble with that is that it is a German party doing German politics in Germany. There are German flags all over the Reichstag. Yes, everyone knows they do it because they are Nazis. But if push came to shove I think a court would rule in their favour that they are in line with the dresscode.
Now, if they were wearing a black t-shirt with just a German flag on it I think the consequences would be the same as in this case here. But they usually know how far they can push the rules.
They are experienced sea lions.
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Left Party MP Cansin Köktürk was thrown out of a German parliament plenary chamber on Wednesday for wearing a t-shirt with the word "Palestine" printed on it, a move deemed a political statement by the parliamentary leadership.
Bundestag President Julia Klöckner intervened during the session, reminding MPs that political messages on clothing are not permitted in the chamber.
While the Bundestag does not have a detailed dress code, its rules require MPs and visitors to dress "in keeping with the prestige" of the institution. Enforcement of this standard is left to the discretion of the session chair.
Just to say it, but both the far right AFD and tankie BSW got into trouble for holding up signs in the Bundestag. Allowing t-shirts with prints would be such an obvious loophole around that.
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LOL. it needs it twice, so again LOL! this comment is amazing! xD
How dare Germans wear a German Flag pin.
Otoh: We normal germans are wirded out how much sexual tension some Americans have with a striped piece auf cloth.
It's cultural differences, there is simply not culture of flag worshipping in Germany, exept from the far right. For every one else the flag is just to Mark goverment buildings, or anonce an offical delegation. Soccer/sport events are the only exeption, but even then it's not the flag that is worshipped, but the flag is again just used to mark yourself as a worshipper of the team.
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The Neo-Nazis I know carry different flags. Not the one from the Bundesrepublik, which is too woke for them.
The local Neonazi recruitment group carries germany flags to not scare of faschist-curious people.
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The flag that stands for a democratic Germany is something only fascists associate with? Interesting take I've gotta say...
wrote on last edited by [email protected]No, if you are versed with german culture you know that there is no widespread flag worshipping culture here. Flags are used to mark government buildings and in some international contexts. But when you are a MdB in the Bundestag there is no need to mark yourself as a german politican, because that is just obvious. So when you go out of your way to do it anyway it carries a message with it, and if you are a member of a far right extremist party, the message is pretty clear.
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They wanted a dresscode. They wanted to have political discourse be through, you know, discourse, instead of through other means. But they didn't want the dresscode to be so strict that they would be forced to wear the same silly robes for hundreds of years or so.
Okay now that I think about it that was an overreaction, but I still think such rules are completely unnecessary and ripe for misuse as a way of silencing minorities and opposition.
They wanted to have political discourse be through, you know, discourse, instead of through other means
Why though? What is gained by putting such a rule in place?
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No, if you are versed with german culture you know that there is no widespread flag worshipping culture here. Flags are used to mark government buildings and in some international contexts. But when you are a MdB in the Bundestag there is no need to mark yourself as a german politican, because that is just obvious. So when you go out of your way to do it anyway it carries a message with it, and if you are a member of a far right extremist party, the message is pretty clear.
No, if you are versed with german culture you know that there is no widespread flag worshipping culture here.
There's a difference between worshipping a flag like in the US or really any autocratic system and a relaxed approach to the own flag. I know and acknowledge what the flag of my country stands for and although I don't need to wave it in everyone's face, I still can connect to it. I respect that you might think differently about this, but I think the German flag itself isn't what makes a person right-wing or even far-right.
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Left Party MP Cansin Köktürk was thrown out of a German parliament plenary chamber on Wednesday for wearing a t-shirt with the word "Palestine" printed on it, a move deemed a political statement by the parliamentary leadership.
Bundestag President Julia Klöckner intervened during the session, reminding MPs that political messages on clothing are not permitted in the chamber.
While the Bundestag does not have a detailed dress code, its rules require MPs and visitors to dress "in keeping with the prestige" of the institution. Enforcement of this standard is left to the discretion of the session chair.
"Doch es sind nicht immer Linke, Grüne und Sozialdemokraten, die die Kleiderordnung offen interpretieren. Die heutige Staatsministerin für Raumfahrt Dorothee Bär (CSU) trug 2015 unter ihrem Blazer ein Trikot des FC Bayern München, samt Logo der Telekom. Hier kam der Protest von links.
Die Beispiele zeigen: Die Würde des Hauses unterliegt auch dem Zeitgeist. Und der scheint – zumindest unter der Bundestagspräsidentin Klöckner – wieder konservativer zu werden. "
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Primarily because the nazis are back.
I wouldn't say that
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No, if you are versed with german culture you know that there is no widespread flag worshipping culture here.
There's a difference between worshipping a flag like in the US or really any autocratic system and a relaxed approach to the own flag. I know and acknowledge what the flag of my country stands for and although I don't need to wave it in everyone's face, I still can connect to it. I respect that you might think differently about this, but I think the German flag itself isn't what makes a person right-wing or even far-right.
Thing is: No one not far right wing ever has the urge to wave a german flag her in germany outside of sport events or the esc. Because like i said there is no culture around it.
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Left Party MP Cansin Köktürk was thrown out of a German parliament plenary chamber on Wednesday for wearing a t-shirt with the word "Palestine" printed on it, a move deemed a political statement by the parliamentary leadership.
Bundestag President Julia Klöckner intervened during the session, reminding MPs that political messages on clothing are not permitted in the chamber.
While the Bundestag does not have a detailed dress code, its rules require MPs and visitors to dress "in keeping with the prestige" of the institution. Enforcement of this standard is left to the discretion of the session chair.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]If she wore a Ukraine shirt (which would be based) or even an Israel shirt (which would not be based), it would have been handled differently. Hell apparently there is a history of members wearing soccer team shirts with no problems.
"The problem isn't the protests, it's what they're protesting." Macklemore
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Okay now that I think about it that was an overreaction, but I still think such rules are completely unnecessary and ripe for misuse as a way of silencing minorities and opposition.
They wanted to have political discourse be through, you know, discourse, instead of through other means
Why though? What is gained by putting such a rule in place?
I guess it reduces the chance of political stunts disrupting the session. The Bundestag is supposed to get shit done, which is already hard enough. Write Palestine on the agenda, have actual debates and call out the hypocrisy of everyone. Propose a law like "No weapons for war criminals".
But disrupting the session (which this incident didn't, but could if done a little bit more aggressively) is in the end just an empty virtue signaling gesture that is better suited for election campaigns.
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Left Party MP Cansin Köktürk was thrown out of a German parliament plenary chamber on Wednesday for wearing a t-shirt with the word "Palestine" printed on it, a move deemed a political statement by the parliamentary leadership.
Bundestag President Julia Klöckner intervened during the session, reminding MPs that political messages on clothing are not permitted in the chamber.
While the Bundestag does not have a detailed dress code, its rules require MPs and visitors to dress "in keeping with the prestige" of the institution. Enforcement of this standard is left to the discretion of the session chair.
By, as a sitting elected representative of actual German voters, being expelled from the German Parliament for merely wearing a T-shirt with the word Palestine in it and nothing else, Cansin just neatly managed to prove that Germany is not a Democracy anymore.
Removing a sitting representative of voters, even if temporarily, from Parliament for any reason is already fishy as hell, removing one for merely wearing a T-shirt with the name of what Germany recognizes as a region (and most of the World recognizes as a country) is outright antidemocratic - they literally kicked out a politician from Parliament for making a political statement that others in Parliament did not like, the very antithesis of Democracy.
This is genuinely worrisome, especially given what Germany did last time they were going down this very same route of ditching Democratic Rules and Values using overtly racial motovations.
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By, as a sitting elected representative of actual German voters, being expelled from the German Parliament for merely wearing a T-shirt with the word Palestine in it and nothing else, Cansin just neatly managed to prove that Germany is not a Democracy anymore.
Removing a sitting representative of voters, even if temporarily, from Parliament for any reason is already fishy as hell, removing one for merely wearing a T-shirt with the name of what Germany recognizes as a region (and most of the World recognizes as a country) is outright antidemocratic - they literally kicked out a politician from Parliament for making a political statement that others in Parliament did not like, the very antithesis of Democracy.
This is genuinely worrisome, especially given what Germany did last time they were going down this very same route of ditching Democratic Rules and Values using overtly racial motovations.
So you wouldnt want AfD representatives removed if they wore Ye shirts with "indian peace symbols"? This is simply enforcing the rules, theres no deep conspiracy or fascism behind it.
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If she wore a Ukraine shirt (which would be based) or even an Israel shirt (which would not be based), it would have been handled differently. Hell apparently there is a history of members wearing soccer team shirts with no problems.
"The problem isn't the protests, it's what they're protesting." Macklemore
Why would you make that assumption? Its completely baseless and most likely untrue.
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Thing is: No one not far right wing ever has the urge to wave a german flag her in germany outside of sport events or the esc. Because like i said there is no culture around it.
Honestly, when I pass a place that has a German flag on a flag pole in front of the house, I don't assume it is a far right person living there. I don't know where you live but maybe in certain regions, flag poles are a bit more common than in others and hence, more German flags can be seen there.
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Why would you make that assumption? Its completely baseless and most likely untrue.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]My assumption is based on two years of German authorities and institutions cracking down on pro-Palestinian voices. Somehow, each time there is some specific rule or sub-rule that is being invoked, but somehow it always ends up being a silencing of pro-Palestinian protest, activism, speech.
Why I would assume the worst of German institutions when it comes to pro-Palestinian stances? Here is the fuck why:
- https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/germany
- https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/germany-palestine-protest/
- https://www.humanrightsresearch.org/post/crackdown-on-pro-palestinian-voices-in-germany-a-disturbing-pattern
- https://thehill.com/opinion/international/4362806-germanys-unprecedented-crackdown-on-pro-palestinian-speech/
- https://globalvoices.org/2024/04/18/inside-germanys-orwellian-crackdown-on-palestine-congress/
- https://zeteo.com/p/germany-crackdown-pro-palestine-speech-sign-holocaust-gaza
- https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/11/8/why-is-germany-supporting-israels-genocide-in-gaza
- https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/germany-palestine-activists-deportation-state-repression
- https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/18/hannah-arendt-prize-masha-gessen-israel-gaza-essay
- https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/03/germany-deporting-pro-palestine-eu-citizens-chilling-new-step
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/25/free-speech-is-a-facade-how-gaza-war-has-deepened-divisions-in-german-arts-world
- https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/11/denouncing-critics-of-israel-as-un-jews-or-antisemites-is-a-perversion-of-history
- https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-nicaragua-germany-genocide-court-91a605921b44110ae5534e6438405997
- https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/03/11/bpig-m11.html
I have simply lost faith in German institutions on this matter.
To return to you the question: why would I NOT assume that German institutions would find some way to ratfuck with pro-Palestinian voices? On what exactly can I build a set of good faith assumptions on German benevolence on the matter? Because I see fucking nothing.
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Left Party MP Cansin Köktürk was thrown out of a German parliament plenary chamber on Wednesday for wearing a t-shirt with the word "Palestine" printed on it, a move deemed a political statement by the parliamentary leadership.
Bundestag President Julia Klöckner intervened during the session, reminding MPs that political messages on clothing are not permitted in the chamber.
While the Bundestag does not have a detailed dress code, its rules require MPs and visitors to dress "in keeping with the prestige" of the institution. Enforcement of this standard is left to the discretion of the session chair.
Considering Germany's strict antisemitism laws and the fact that Palestine has repeatedly called for the extermination of all Jews, this can't really be that surprising.
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Considering Germany's strict antisemitism laws and the fact that Palestine has repeatedly called for the extermination of all Jews, this can't really be that surprising.
Palestine has repeatedly called for the extermination of all Jews
I can make shit up too, check it out: "giraffes are purple"
My bullshit at least is not enabling genocide.
